For many dudes, masturbating to porn is the next best thing to having sex with a woman. In fact, some men would argue that masturbating to pornography is even better than penetrative sex, as porn costs little money, it won't argue with you, and it's into all kinds of kinky things that put most forms of erotic fiction to shame. But that doesn't mean porn doesn't comes with its share of disappointments. I spoke with Dr. Chauntelle Tibbals, a leading sociologist and author of "Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society, And Adult Entertainment," to discuss some disappointing truths about the adult film industry that she discovered when researching for her book.
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Porn stars don't earn great salaries.
Back in the late '90s and early '00s, porn actors, producers and directors made bank, earning six-figure incomes and beyond thanks in great part to the Internet, which at the time was booming, void of piracy, and therefore, void of free porn being thieved from paid websites. Due to its success, those in adult film would earn higher incomes as actors and were a prized commodity (like Jenna Jameson), Tibbals says. Nowadays, however, more people are vying for fewer jobs and the average porn star earns a middle-class income. "I know of a very prominent adult actor who works at their production company as an assistant to supplement their income," Tibbals adds. "I really don't think people understand how competitive and difficult the industry is."
Some actors don't like each other at all.
Having sex for a living, you'd figure the films' stars would all just get along, right? Wrong. According to Tibbals, many actors actually compile a "no" list; which is exactly as it sounds: a list of porn stars they refuse to work with.
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The orgasms are only sometimes real.
Despite sounding like they're being gutted by a rusted machete (in a good way, if that's possible?) the actresses are doing just that: acting. According to Tibbals, the likelihood of actors truly having an orgasm all depends on a cohesive marriage between the performer, the crew and the environment. And who can blame them? They're getting pounded in very compromising positions not conducive to orgasm, and the person they're having sex with is usually somebody they met 20 minutes prior to filming.
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Squirting is probably fake.
Squirting is a long-discussed myth within the porn community, one that I've personally been told is fake - at least when it comes to spouting like a sprinkler. Tibbals, however, doesn't give me a direct answer, but instead says "Some people dispute whether a woman who works three or four days a week in the adult film industry is physically able to squirt in every scene," which, to me at least, suggests it's more of a gimmick. While I'm sure that female actresses are wet on set, the act of squirting is highly suspect, and is even rumored to be urine. Therefore, the act should be renamed the "golden bidet."
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Tube sites are killing the industry.
Tube sites are undoubtedly the mightiest adversary of the porn industry. Because of consumer entitlement ("all of this stuff should be free!"), tube sites and their subsequent popularity have hurt the industry's longevity. In case you're unaware, tube sites are populated by people who steal content from paid websites and upload "crappy and grainy" (Tibbals adjectives) versions of them to tube sites for consumers to view for free, all while earning profit through views. While it may seem as though they're doing Robin Hood's work for the consumer, they're actually making it hard for porn films to make money. And by not making money, more films can't be made.
Tubes sites also hurt your favorite star's career
In the same way we're killing the industry by watching free porn from tube sites, we're hurting our favorite porn stars by not letting the studio see their return on investment by featuring that actress."By paying for her clip, you demonstrate to a producer that you want to see more of her, just as you do when paying for a movie ticket," Tibbals says. By watching these actresses for free, producers will only see how many clicks she receives, which, from a business perspective, doesn't mean squat. "You're taking the future away from the performer."
Porn is less profitable than it was a decade ago.
In addition to the actors making less, the industry as a whole is much less profitable than it used to be, Tibbals informs. Less people are working because fewer jobs are available, and many major porn production companies have closed their doors due to the decreasing profits.
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Few people can make careers in porn.
"The industry has never seen so many people interested in working in it," Tibbals says. This could be because much of the stigma surrounding adult film has been banished, and that porn has become more of an entrepreneurship than anything else. From the outside looking in, doing something like webcam modeling on live sex website is a profitable cause. But the truth of the matter is, the porn "star" is much less a star now, and is much more of a porn "flavor of the week." A woman's career in the industry doesn't last long on average.
Sets aren't elaborate or sexy.
"Some studios will do big productions, but the majority of porn that's shot are very small productions in a room with tons of lighting," Tibbals says. Add on top of that the fact that, generally (unless they're filming some grand-scale orgy) there are more people not having sex on set than there are people actually doing it. Which could be awkward.
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The crew is - unlike the actors' wieners - incredibly small.
"The majority of porn that's shot is a very small production with a skeleton crew" Tibbals - who's visited her fair share of porn sets during her 10-years studying the industry - says. "You'll have a director, a producer, the actors, and maybe a personal assistant. Like, maybe four people." Tibbals adds that with this small staff (which is likely the result of budget cuts) comes charm. "Because it's a small community, there is a lot of joking," she admits. While people are having sex, they joke. When they stop to pose for photos, they joke. "It's a lot more funny and goofy than you'd expect, it's not really passionate at all. Just a bunch of dorks hanging out.
More: 25 Random Facts About The Porn Industry
